Anchor reel



C. C. BINNS Sept. 13, 1966 ANCHOR REEL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 8,1964 INVENTOR.

CLEM c. BINNS ATTORNEY C- C. BINNS ANCHOR REEL Sept. 13, 1966 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 8, 1964 FIG. 5

INVENTOR. CLEM C. Bl NNS ATTORNEY FIG. 4

United States Patent 3,272,478 ANCHOR REEL Clem C. Binns, Niles, Mich.Cass Tool & Die, Cassapolis, Mich. 49031) Filed June 8, 1964-, Ser. No.373,192 4 Claims. ((Il. 254-486) The present invention relates to reelsand more particularly to a manually operable anchor reel.

Various types of anchor reels have been devised for use in small boatswhich will effectively control the anchor as it is being raised andlowered, and which will hold the anchor line in any desired paid outposition and retain the anchor firmly in its raised position. In orderto accomplish these various operations, the reels in the past haveincluded several levers for manipulating the reels to wind the anchorline, brake the line while it is being paid out, hold the reel with thedesired line length unwound, and lock the reel when the anchor has beenfully raised. These various levers and controls have often beendifiicult to operate effectively and have often made the reel bulky,cumbersome and difficult to install in and adapt to different makes andtypes of boats. It is therefore one of the principal objects of thepresent invention to provide a compact and relatively simple anchor reelfor small boats which can be easily and effectively operated to controlthe raising and lowering of the anchor and which will retain the anchorline in either its fully wound position or in any partially unwoundcondition.

Another object of the invention is to provide an anchor reel for smallboats and the like which is so constructed that it can be installed andeffectively operated in any convenient position in the boat and which isvirtually service-free even when operated under adverse conditions whichwould normally result in the following of the line and the operatingmechanism of conventional reels.

When a boater drops the anchor he frequently wishes it to drop slowly toprevent disturbing his view of the bottom or scaring the first from thearea. At other times he may wish to drop it rapidly, even to aconsiderable depth, to prevent drifting too far from a chosen spot. Itis therefore a further object of the present invention to provide amanually operated anchor reel which incorporates a brake for the anchorrope which is easily adjustable from a completely released position to avirtually immobilizing position.

When the anchor is being dropped, it is often possible for the handle ofa reel to spin, threatening accidents ranging from blows on thefishermans hand to hopelessly fouled lines caught in the handle.possible for a person to remember this danger or perform a releasingaction on the handle of his anchor reel. It is therefore another objectto provide an anchor reel with a handle Which is automaticallyfree-wheeling in either rotational direction.

An additional object is to provide a push-button controlled anchorrelease.

When a boat is loaded onto a rack on top of an automobile, the anchorreel should not project from it to scratch or mar the roof or sides ofthe vehicle. In addition, when the boat is in use, the anchor reelshould not interfere with the use or operation of the boat in any way.Therefore, another object of the invention is to provide a reel which issmall and may be mounted in any convenient position in the boat.

A further object is to provide such a reel which is sturdy and able towithstand all normal shocks and blows while in use.

Still another object is to provide an anchor reel which is simple andwhich is easily manufactured from readily available parts and whichrequires little or no maintenance.

Yet it is not always Additional objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a boat having the present inventionmounted in one possible convenient position;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the anchor reel;

FIGURE 4 is an end elevational view of the reel;

FIGURE 5 is a cross sectional view of the free-wheeling mechanism takenon line 5-'5 of FIGURE 2 and showing the mechanism in the free-wheelingposition;

FIGURE 6 is a cross sectional view similar to that of FIGURE 5, showingthe mechanism in the handle engaging position;

FIGURE 7 is an end elevational view of a shaft used in the reel; and

FIGURE 8 is a view of a portion of the handle of the present invention.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, and to FIGURE 1 inparticular, a boat 10 has an anchor 12 raised and lowered by a rope 14connected to reel 16. In FIGURE 1, the reel 16 is placed on the side ofthe boat near the back for the convenience of a person using an outboardmotor (not shown), but the reel can be placed near the back for theconvenience of a person using an floor of the boat, or even under aseat, if desired. It is connected in the desired position by screws orbolts (not shown) in one side or the base of reel 16. The reel is alsosuitable for one without modification in many types of boats other thanthe one shown in FIGURE 1, for example cabin cruisers and sail boats.

As seen in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4, reel 16 includes a U-shaped frame 20having a base 22 and sides 24 and 26. A handle 28 adjacent side 24 isconnected by a shaft 30 to a reel 32 between sides 24 and 26. Reel 32includes a drum 34, and ratchet wheel 36 and disc-shaped wheel 38connected integrally and concentrically with drum 34. Wheels 36 and 38are centrally drilled to accommodate shaft 30, and a central disc oneach wheel having a diameter equal to the diameter of drum 34 is stampedout to a displacement equal to the thickness of the wheels. Thus, whendrum 34 is integrally connected between Wheels 36 and 38 are centrallydrilled to accommodate side of each wheel, the centers of the wheels areclose to sides 24 and 26, as will be described more fully hereinafter,while the outer rims of the wheels are spaced from the sidessufficiently to eliminate any chance of contact between the rims and thesides. As seen in FIGURES 4 and 5, drum 34 is connected concentricallyfor rotation with shaft 30 'by a tube 40. Shaft 30 and reel 32 aremounted for free rotation between sides 24 and 26 by bearings 42 and 44of nylon or the like. In the basic operation of this device, rope 14 ispassed through tube and knotted, thus holding it on the reel. The ropeis then simply wound on and from reel 32 by handle 28.

When handle 28 is used to draw up anchor 12, a pawl automatically locksratchet wheel 36 to prevent the weight of the anchor from reversing themovement of reel 32 when the boatman releases the handle. Ratchet 36 hasteeth every inch or two inches about its circumference, thus allowing avery close measurement of rope 14 and hence of the depth of anchor 12.Pawl 50, pivoted at 52, is biased by a spring 54 acting between base 22and surface 56 of pawl 50 to a ratchet engaging position wherein tooth58 of pawl 50 catches in the teeth of wheel 36. An extension 60 of pawl50 on the end of the pawl opposite tooth 58 extends through opening 62of base 22 to be used as a ratchet disengaging button. Thus, whenextension 60 is pressed, the ratchet is released and anchor 12 can pullas much rope as needed from reel 32. The

withdrawal of rope from the reel can be stopped at any desired time byreleasing extension 60.

To provide a braking action on reel 32 and hence rope 14, bearings 42and 44- have annular extensions 64 and 66, respectively, extendingbetween the raised portions of wheels 36 and 38 and sides 24 and 26. Acommon machine screw 70 connects the open ends of sides 24 and 26 andacts to draw them together or push them apart, as desired. By drawingthe sides together a small amount, the pressure on extensions 64 and 66is increased sufficiently to increase the friction and thus increase thebraking action on line 14. This operation is so sensitive that even afraction of a turn of screw 70 noticeably afiects the friction on drum32, and hence the rate of descent of the anchor. For the convenience ofthe operator of the reel, several types of screw heads might be used,for example, a simple wing nut '72 or a hex nut, easily turned by thefingers or a pair of pliers.

An annular nylon bearing 74 journalled on the outer end of shaft 30 isconnected to handle 28 by rivets 75 molded integrally with bearing 74,the handle being constrained to rotate concentrically with shaft 30 bythe position of bearing 74 about shaft 30. The assembly is held on shaft30 by a bearing 76 having an integral annular stop 78 and being mountedon shaft 30 by a screw 80. A spring 82 acting between side 24 andbearing 74 biases handle 28 in a normally disengaged relation with shaft30. As seen in FIGURES 6, 7 and 8, handle 28 has a semi-circular openingwith one flat side 84 and shaft 30 has two matching flat lands 86 and 88cut out on opposite sides of the shaft for a distance along the shaftfar enough to allow handle 28 to turn shaft 30 while preventing thehandle from approaching side 24 closely enough to interfere with wingnut 72. Bearing 76 has a diameter equal to the distance between lands 86and 88 on shaft 30; thus, handle 28 turns freely on the bearing.

When the reel is to be operated, handle 28 is pressed against spring 82,allowing flat side 84 to come in contact with land 86 or land 88 andturn shaft 30. When the handle is released, it is immediately forcedinto the disengaged position by spring 82.

When using the present invention, reel 16 is mounted on the boat aspreviously described. When the anchor is to be dropped, screw 70 isadjusted to the desired braking action, and then extension 60 is pressedto release the anchor. The friction brake not only slows the descent ofthe anchor, but also prevents excess rope from being paid out after theanchor bottoms. When the anchor is to be raised again, handle 28 ispressed toward side 24 and turned until the anchor is at the desiredlevel, pawl '50 and ratchet wheel 36 preventing the anchor from droppingat any time during the raising process. When the anchor raising iscompleted, handle 28 is released and the unit is ready for anotherlowering or raising cycle again.

Various changes and modifications may be made without departing from thescope of the present invention.

I claim:

1. An anchor reel comprising a unitary assembly of a base and two sidesjoined to said base forming a U- shaped frame, a reel assembly mountedwithin said frame and comprising a hub, a wheel concentric with andintegrally connected to one end of said hub, and a ratchet wheelconcentric with and integrally connected to the other end of said hub,one of said frame sides being movable toward and away from said hub onopposite sides thereof a shaft extending concentrically from said huband passing through one of said sides, a handle connected to said shaftfor free rotation with respect to said assembly, keying means on saidhandle, cooperating keying means on said shaft, a spring on said shaftacting between said handle and said frame to bias said handle away fromsaid second mentioned keying means, a pawl resiliently biased intolatching contact with said ratchet wheel, frictional means interposedbetween one of said wheels and the adjacent side wall, and means for mging said last mentioned side wall and said last mentioned wheel intocloser contact with said frictional means.

2. An anchor reel comprising a unitary assembly of a base and two sidesjoined to said base forming a U- shaped frame, a reel assembly mountedwithin said frame and comprising a hub, a wheel concentric with andintegrally connected to one end of said hub, and a ratchet wheelconcentric with and integrally connected to the other end of said hub,one of said frame sides being movable toward and away from said hub onopposite sides thereof, a shaft extending concentrically from said huband connected for rotation with said hub and passing through one of saidsides, a handle connected to said shaft for free rotation with respectto said shaft, keying means on said handle, cooperating keying means onsaid shaft, a spring on said shaft acting between said handle and saidframe to bias said handle away from said second mentioned keying means,a pawl resiliently biased into latching contact with said ratchet wheel,frictional means interposed between one of said wheels and the adjacentside wall, and screw means connected to said frame for urging said lastmentioned side wall and said last mentioned wheel into closer contactwith said frictional means.

3. A reel comprising a unitary assembly of a base and two sides joinedto said base forming a U-shaped frame, a reel assembly mounted on saidframe and comprising a hub, a wheel concentric with and integrallyconnected to one end of said hub, and a ratchet wheel concentric withand integrally connected to the other end of said hub, one of said framesides being movable toward and away from said hub on opposite sidesthereof, a shaft extending from said hub and connected for rotation withsaid hub and passing through said side, a handle connected to said shaftfor free rotation with respect to said shaft, keying means on saidhandle, cooperating keying means on said shaft, resilient means forbiasing said handle away from said second mentioned keying means, a pawlbiased into contact with said ratchet wheel, brake means interposedbetweeen one of said wheels and the adjacent side wall and an adjustablemeans for urging said last mentioned side Wall and said last mentionedwheel into closer contact with said brake means.

4. A reel comprising a unitary assembly of a base and two sides joinedto said base forming a U-shaped frame, a reel assembly mounted on saidframe and comprising a hub, a wheel integrally connected to said hub,and a ratchet wheel integrally connected to said hub, one of said framesides being movable toward and away from said hub on opposite sidesthereof, a handle connected for free rotation with respect to saidassembly, keying means for operatively connecting said handle and saidassembly, resilient means for biasing said keying means into aninoperative position, a pawl biased into contact with said ratchetwheel, brake means interposed between one of said wheels and theadjustment side wall, and an adjustable means for bringing said frameand said last mentioned wheel into closer contact with said brake means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,197,671 9/1916Schneiden 188-71 2,031,501 2/1936 Porten 24299 2,354,805 8/1944 Fey74-548 2,626,763 1/1953 Dunnock 24299 2,654,828 10/1953 Vandenberg 242992,684,833 7/1954 Benson.

2,780,333 2/1957 Reiser 19267 2,927,771 3/1960 Clark.

3,182,962 5/1965 Gray 254-186 EVON C. BLUNK, Primary Examiner.

HUGO O. SCHULTZ, Examiner.

H. C. HORNSBY, Assistant Examiner.

1. AN ANCHOR REEL COMPRISING A UNITARY ASSEMBLY OF A BASE AND TWO SIDESJOINED TO SAID BASE FORMING A USHAPED FRAME, A REEL ASSEMBLY MOUNTEDWITHIN SAID FRAME AND COMPRISING A HUB, A WHEEL CONCENTRIC WITH ANDINTEGRALLY CONNECTED TO ONE END OF SAID HUB, AND A RATCHET WHEELCONCENTRIC WITH AND INTEGRALLY CONNECTED TO THE OTHER END OF SAID HUB,ONE OF SAID FRAME SIDES BEING MOVABLE TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID HUB ONOPPOSITE SIDES THEREOF A SHAFT EXTENDING CONCENTRICALLY FROM SAID HUBAND PASSING THROUGH ONE OF SAID SIDES, A HANDLE CONNECTED TO SAID SHAFTFOR FREE ROTATION WITH RESPECT TO SAID ASSEMBLY, KEYING MEANS ON SAIDHANDLE, COOPERATING KEYING MEANS ON SAID SHAFT, A SPRING ON SAID SHAFTACTING BETWEEN SAID HANDLE AND SAID FRAME TO BIAS SAID HANDLE AWAY FROMSAID SECOND MENTIONED KEYING MEANS, A PAWL RESILIENTLY BIASED INTOLATCHING CONTACT WITH SAID RATCHET WHEEL, FRICTIONALY MEANS INTERPOSEDBETWEEN ONE OF SAID WHEELS AND THE ADJACENT SIDE WALL, AND MEANS FORURGING SAID LAST MENTIONED SIDE WALL AND SAID LAST MENTIONED WHEEL INTOCLOSER CONTACT WITH SAID FRICTIONAL MEANS.